Got a baby coming soon or not, stretching never has harmed anyone ever. It helps strengthen and lengthen your muscle which is more than you can ever ask for to enhance your overall weight and appearance. Not just that, your entire well being depends on how you feel about your health. Although working out too hard isn’t permissible a little bit of stretch has never harmed anyone.
BENEFITS OF STRETCHING DURING PREGNANCY:
Perks of working out as your months being pregnant passes only increases. Your posture obviously shifts to a better zone and your weight lies distributed evenly. The tightness of your back, neck and chest can be guaranteed.
Besides, not to forget the benefits of your stretching will work wonders for your little one waiting to see the world. Incorporating a few stretches in your daily routine could easily fix your soreness and aches, thus promoting a better experience with your pregnancy.
See More: Pregnancy Arm Workouts
SAFETY TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE STRETCHING:
Despite being ready to stretch, you ought to exercise the following precautions.
- Always warm up before you begin, since jumping in straight to stretch might only cause injuries, solving no purpose in fixing your ache otherwise. A few minutes of knee raises or sit ups should work wonders.
- Try not to bounce when you’re pregnant since it could very easily turn out to be a pulled muscle. Focus on keeping up with the stretch for about 20 to 30 seconds, and hold it so you can feel the stretch take its effect.
- Don’t overdo your stretches. During pregnancy, relaxin is produced, which loosens the ligaments, thus making you susceptible to overstretch unintentionally and end up injuring yourself.
- Don’t limit yourself, but don’t push it too far either. Always listen to what your body has to say.
- If a stretch isn’t doing what it should for you, its probably best to pick sides with a new one instead.
PREGNANCY STRETCHES AND THEIR BENEFITS:
Begin with warming up as said, and then focus on your body part that needs attention. Here are the top 9 stretches that should help.
1. Back:
A back stretch could obviously fix up the building up pressure on your spine and back. This stretch helps elongate your back muscles quite the distance. To being, keep your hips either over or behind your toes and rest your hand on the floor. Adjust your shoulders and tilt your head backwards. Try and make an arch into a rather comfortable position and that should be it.
2. Neck:
As the name suggests, this exercise helps release tension from your neck area. To carry this exercise, you could either stand or sit as you will. Close your eyes take a deep breath and then start by titling your head to a side. Allow it to drop all the way to your shoulder. Make sure the two don’t meet. Repeat switching sides after about three to six seconds.
3. Chest:
Tension buildup from chest to back? Dont you worry! The chest stretching will help. Start by taking a pillow or a mat. Sit down and keep your feet pressed against your thighs. Exhale and while you continue sitting, allow your fingers to touch the opposite knee. So the left hand touches the right knee and vice versa. Circle your arms after a cycle and change the position around. Repeat as and how you like as many times until you are tired.
4. Shoulders:
In case you cant help but sit in front of the computer for too long, this exercise will most certainly come handy. To carry it out, stand with your feet apart by an inch. Pull out your hands and stretch them high up. Try touching the right elbow with the left hand with your hands still high. Hold the position for about a few seconds and repeat. Reverse both directions and do horizontal and vertical switches.
5. Abdomen:
A liberating stretch, this allows your body to breathe and makes space for your ribs and allows spacing for the muscles that support your belly bump. To start, kneel on your knees and keep your feet on the ground. Now once you get into this position, keep a ball around and extend your hands to touch the ball. Make sure your joints are stretched out as far as it goes and hold the ball using just your elbows and lower hand. Repeat until you are comfortable.
See More: Positions To Avoid When Pregnant
6. Thighs:
This flexible muscle stretching exercise is just what you need to feel uncomfortable after sitting out for too long. Stretch out one hand high up and place the other on your waist. Stretch out one leg with a bend at the knee and place the other foot behind, with knee straight out. Repeat when you feel the stretch.
7. Hips:
Your sciatica troubles will never make a return with this exercise that shouts for your attention. To begin, sit on the floor as usual. Pull up one of your leg and bring it close to your ear from behind. You can bend your head as needed to adjust. Hold the position for about 20 seconds and then change sides. Do not forget to breathe else you will tire easily.
8. Legs:
From swelling to cramping it will all be over before you know it. There is no unique way to do a leg stretch and all variations can be experimented with.
9. Entire Body:
Release of stress is guaranteed with this stretching. It involves repeating all the procedures above one after another followed by a deep breath.
See More: Pilates During Pregnancy
Once you know where your area of trouble lies, it shouldn’t be too hard to isolate and target it for tension release. If you are a fitness freak, you shouldn’t shy away from exercises just because you are pregnant. Stretching is the way out of your limited posture movement. Easy to implement and leads to the same old health benefits.
